Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-05-06
Sarn Copies.
ONlON-GROWING.
[ From the Rural Ncrmontcr.

DEAR DOCTOR Ill would like to
ask Il few questions with regard to rails
ing onions. Will they do well on green
swaId: | turned over a piece of meadow
land late i'll autumn, on which | have
formerly raised good onions. at the rate
of ID bushels to the square rod on some
portions of the field. and have covered
it well with rotten barn ward manure.
CD viii be likely to raise "A good crop
of onions on it: | hear salt recommend
ed to be sown on land for onions. CD
How much can | sow to the acre and be
beneficial to the crop: and what sea-
son of the year is best to apply it: CD
Will commercial fertilizers increase the
crop when there is plenty of manure:
O. How can | manage to raise some
large specimens to take premium ON:
CO.. l. there anything that will prevent
the ravages of the onion maggot, which
did more damage last year than ever be
fore: CO. How are they propagatcd:
One man said he thought they were sown
in the seed in embryo.
think we have Il better way of fitting
the land than you recommend in the ag
rcultural report of the state board of ag-
rculture. We take Il piece of >cantling,
or Il round stick if YOU choose. long
enough to put in I teeth II inches apart,
O.
ground, bolt a piece of two-inch plank of
the same length on to the under side of
she thillS and set in this four good length
cultivator teeth directly forward of the
wooden teeth. Take two boards for each
wooden tooth. six inches wide. tapering
some at the lower ends, of the same length
of the teeth (Which do not want to 90
deeper in the ground than the cultivator
teeth, nail the edges of these together
like the letter 4 which being nailed to the
front side of the wooden teeth will throw
the ground into ridges between them;
then by raking these ridges lengthwise
with hand rake, all the Jumps and small
stones can be thrown between the ridges
and got rid of, leaving the ground about
level, and Il good mellow seed bed where
the ridges curve, for the seed sower to
follow ana deposit the seed
ii. w. SHELDON.
Bast Mddlebury, VT.
We are glad to welcome Mr.. Sheldon
AZ correspondent of the Nermonter.
We will reply to his inquiries by the
Numbers. |. We do not know why not.
Contrary to the old notion. we think it
well to change the onion ground occa-
sionally. The crop will not be likely to
be so large the first year, however, on
any ground. as onions do not root widely,
and need the land to be well charged with
quickly available fertilizing matter all
hrought it. 2. Six or eight bushels of
salt to the acre is enough. 1t is not fer
ilizer itself. but it has an effect to make
manure, or other plant food in the soil,
more quickly available much as plaster
ioes. Plaster is sulphuric acid and lime
bat is muratic acid and soda. 1t is the
acid in each that does the business. 3
We think they will; and no matter how
rich the ground, we always rake III &
dressing of good superphosphate be-
ore sowing our onion seed. 4. We al
ways get our biggest onions where they
tand thinnest on the ground, but gooC
train of seed is also important. The
,ound Danvers Buxton strain) gives
;ery heavy bulbs. ). A very heavy
DRESSING of air Stacked lime-lO0 to 20t
bushels to the acre-wll do 1t, according
o Henderson; but lime costs too much
where we live, to try it, We watch anC
biz up and destroy with fire every plan
IS soon as attacked. 6. The eggs ar,
aid soon after the onions are up, by
mall fly, much like house-fly. TIN
arvae (worms) winter in the ground, amt
ome out as flies as soon as the weathe
)egins to get warm. There are severa
uccessive broods of them. Thanks TO
our way of fitting the land. ii.